Homesick
by Ptolomeia
Summary: Katara is sad and Zuko has no idea how to cheer his fiancée up. Never one to give up, Zuko writes to friends and family for their suggestions. Unfortunately for him, he never was very good at metaphors... (Happy ending!)


Zuko stormed down the hallway to his office, guards and servants scurrying out of his way. No one wanted to be in the way of the Fire Lord when he was in this kind of mood. They still remembered Ozai. And, for all that Zuko would _never_ become his father, his mood was a foul one. After all, things were dire, far worse than he had first feared, because not five minutes ago he'd walked into the library to find Katara, his wonderful, beautiful, talented, passionate fiancée, _crying._ This wouldn't do. He'd known she'd been sad for a while now, ever since the letter from the Southern Water Tribe had arrived apologizing for not being able to make it to the Fire Nation that year, and he'd done all he could to cheer her up. Flowers, her favourite scrolls, new Painted Lady scrolls imported from around the islands, her favourite foods (even water tribe delicacies, even _sea prunes_ for Agni's sake), five new waterskins but _nothing was working_. He'd even briefly considered asking his father for advice before realizing that was a terrible idea. Ozai would never help him with anything. If anything, the man would try to sabotage him. Things were worse than he'd feared. Things were getting desperate.

He threw open the doors to his study and ordered everyone out before quickly gathering everything he'd need to write a letter. Yes, things were getting desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures. It was time and past time he wrote to Uncle.

The reply came only a few days later. Zuko scanned the news about the teashop and other bits of gossip that Zuko would go back and read properly later, _after_ Katara was happy again, and focused on the advice Uncle had written for cheering up his nephew's wife.

"Try not to worry, Fire Lord Zuko," Uncle had written, "An exotic bud needs both sun and rain to bloom into a beautiful flower." And then there was something about 'attached calming tea' but Zuko ignored that. Zuko was dumbfounded. Even after all these years, he was occasionally surprised by his stupidity and Uncle's wisdom. It all made perfect sense now. How could he have not seen it before? After all, _everyone_ was talking about how the dry season was especially harsh this year. His plan firmly formed in his head, he called for the head of the Palace Guard.

* * *

"Any questions?" asked the captain of the guard after addressing his troops. A hand went up at the back. The captain suppressed a wince. "Yes, Private Shin?"

"Permission to speak freely, Captain Jee?" Jee sighed to himself. You'd think he'd learn. However, for all that Shin had some troubles with the formalities, he was loyal.

"Permission granted."

"Sir, has the Fire Lord gone insane?"

Jee paused. "You never met the old Fire Princess, did you?"

"No, sir," replied Private Shin. "I joined the palace barracks after the end of the war."

"I thought not. Don't worry, Private. The Fire Lord is alright. Besides, the Lady Katara is kind and compassionate, we have nothing to fear." He said it with far more confidence than he felt. Well, at least she would heal them all afterwords. "Now, everyone, gather your buckets!"

* * *

Katara walked a few minutes late into the courtyard where her fiancé had asked her to meet him. Not that it seemed to matter, as Zuko was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he'd been held up in a meeting? She hadn't thought he had any meetings today, but, being Fire Lord, things like surprise meetings sometimes happened. Spirits knew she had her fair share of them as ambassador. Waiting for him to show up, she went to sit on the sole bench in the center of the courtyard.

"Now!" came Zuko's commanding voice. The first wave of water hit her from pure shock. "Second wave!" Came his voice again. This time, however, she caught the water as it flew. She took a moment to take in the situation. Zuko and about twenty of the palace guards had appeared from nowhere, bearing buckets of water. They were already preparing a third wave to throw.

Katara smiled to herself, taking the water from those buckets as well. They wanted a water fight with a master waterbender? She'd give them one.

* * *

While Zuko was helping the rest of the guard get unfrozen from the wall, he couldn't help but smile. His uncle was a genius! For all that his suggestion had gotten Zuko and several members of the Palace Guard frozen to walls and left there to melt themselves out, Katara had been smiling.

* * *

Two days later, he changed his mind. His Uncle had _failed_ him, because Katara was still sad and had told him to keep the bending to the practice ring.

Zuko deliberated for a full day before sending his next missive. After all, the Avatar was a busy man—well, young man—well, barely more than a kid, but he was still the Avatar—and the Fire Lord should only be troubling him with matters of international importance. On the other hand, Aang was still one of Zuko's best friends and they both loved Katara, if differently. On the other other hand (and yes, he was well aware he was at three hands, he could pretend to be a damn sky bison if he wanted to) Aang was traveling with Toph and if Toph found out that he couldn't solve his relationship problems on his own, she'd tease him into their next lives. But at the end of the day, he wrote to them, because Katara was still sad and her happiness was worth far more than putting up with some teasing whenever he saw Toph. After all, he'd once taken lighting for his amazing fiancée. Then again, he wouldn't have to had to deal with teasing if the lightning had killed him, unless Lu Ten found him in the spirit world… Zuko wrote his letter.

He spent the next few days waiting for the no-longer-so-little benders to show up, tease him and show him how it was done, but instead his messenger hawk returned alone a few days later. He read it quickly alone in his office, dismissing some of Toph's suggestions and wondering where she'd even heard of some of the others (and Aang's recommendation for a chi increasing tea. Agni, wasn't he supposed to be a _monk?_ ) before finally getting to their actual suggestion, or rather suggestions. Aang thought she might need more space, Toph thought she was bored. Zuko decided to try Aang's advice first. After all, he'd known Katara longer and Aang was famous for being able to turn situations around and make people happier; after all, he'd stopped the Hundred Years' War (with a little help from his friends, admittedly). Surely one sad waterbender couldn't compare to that, even if she _was_ Katara.

* * *

"Um, Sir?" asked Private Shin as he struggled to move the surprisingly heavy chest. "Wouldn't this task be better done by servants?"

"Of course not!" cut in the Fire Lord before Captain Jee could reply, cutting himself off mid-instruction. "These are Master Katara's rooms, where the future Fire Lady herself sleeps. While it is true that her servants are some of my most trusted, she doesn't choose to keep many, and this is a large task we have little time to complete. You are completing an honourable service and are a pride to your Fire Lord! Keep up the good work!" He turned back to the soldiers he'd been directing earlier. "No, more left! No! Not that much left! THERE! STOP!"

Captain Jee tried to hide his smile as Private Shin returned to trying to move the chest with much more enthusiasm. For all of his strangeness, the Angry Prince he had served all those years had turned into a passionate and inspiring Fire Lord. He couldn't help but be proud.

* * *

Katara practically skipped down the halls. The meeting she'd been mediating between Fire Nation and Water Tribe traders had ended early with a deal struck that met everyone's approval. She'd been mediating this for almost a week and just wanted to soak in a bath for an hour or two before meeting her fiancé for a celebratory dinner and then… she was sure they'd find other ways to celebrate. Smiling to herself, she threw open the doors to her room,

The smile faded from her face as she took in the scene in front of her. Zuko was there (which was good, she'd be willing to postpone her bath if Zuko was so kind as to _already_ be in her bedroom) but so were several members of the Palace Guard and they were rearranging her room. Katara rather liked her room. It was just the right size for her, she had space for everything she needed _and_ the trinkets Iroh insisted on sending her. The amount of space she had here in the Fire Nation would be far more than luxurious in the Water Tribe and it was arranged just how she liked it.

Or, at least, it had been, when she left for her meeting earlier that day. Now, it was rearranged. Everything that had been spread nicely around the room had been pushed together and against the walls. It would take all day to get everything back where it was supposed to go. Katara no longer felt like skipping. No, strangling seemed more the order of the day.

"Zuko," Katara asked, her voice _dangerously_ sweet, "what, exactly, is going on here?" Zuko turned to face her and, seeing her expression, went even paler than usual.

"Sir?" Her furious glare turned on the captain of the Palace Guard. He visibly didn't swallow. "I believe a strategic retreat might be in order."

Zuko, Katara was pleased to note, did swallow. After all, _he'd_ seen her go full out.

"Agreed, Captain Jee. Men, to the barracks." And Zuko was gone, the rest of the soldiers following him quickly. Private Shin was the lastone out, turning to Katara and bowing deeply.

"Sorry, Master Katara," he said before hurrying out. Katara sighed before giving her room another look. It seemed like her bath would have to wait…

* * *

The Avatar was even worse than Uncle! Zuko fumed to himself in his office. He turned to Toph's advice next. She was a girl, wasn't she? Maybe that was his problem, not asking a girl for advice yet. Hm… Katara might be bored? She was kept busy with her job as ambassador, surely. Then again, he knew exactly how boring administrative duties could be… Maybe all the paperwork was getting to her. The bending match earlier had been fun, but both she and he knew how much more intense it was when there was really something at stake. Neither of them would risk actually hurting the other, not for a long time now. Maybe if he… He'd have to thank Toph later. Zuko smiled to himself. This was nothing the Blue Spirit and the Palace Guard couldn't handle.

* * *

Private Shin looked at Captain Jee with wide, horrified eyes. "Sir… are you sure?"

* * *

Katara woke up, her brain still slightly fuzzy from the drugs. She went to draw water from the air, but she couldn't move her hands. Panic shot through her. Was there a plot against Zuko as well, or just her? He'd been too busy to join her at dinner that night, so maybe they'd missed him with the poison. She tugged futilely on on her bonds, jerking quietly. That's when she learned that her ankles were bound as well. She took a deep breath, another, and forced herself to think clearly. First, she was still alive, they hadn't killed her in her sleep. That was good. It was stupid of them, but good for her, and for her fiancé if they'd gotten him too. Second, she could still feel the water in the air around her, even if they'd taken away her waterskin. Good, they hadn't managed to block her chi. She smirked to herself. She was a master waterbender. She didn't need to move her arms to bend.

She held the water she'd bent with just her fingers to her temples and felt the fuzziness of her thoughts disappear. Quickly, she sliced through the ropes binding her ankles. Good rope, strong but surprisingly soft, and good knots, meant to bind, but not be uncomfortable, the water tribe in her couldn't help but notice. The knots, the ropes, the cot, her not being dead, aside from it being new moon, these were a courteous bunch of kidnappers. It wouldn't save them from her wrath if they'd hurt Zuko, but still. She took a minute to pass her healing water over herself, making sure to rid the drug from her body. She moved as quietly as she could from the bed and towards the door, gathering more water as she went. She must be in a basement somewhere for it to be this damp. There were even pipes going through the room, filled with water. Did these kidnappers not know who she was? It was starting to look ridiculous. She left that water where it was for now. She wanted more information before she made her move and and that would draw too much attention. She pressed her ear carefully to the door.

"—don't know if I can do this, sir," said a very familiar voice. "She's going to be the _Fire Lady_ soon. Are you sure that this is what he wanted?"

"His instructions were clear," replied another voice, just as familiar. "And he's supervised everything so far. If he didn't want this, he'd have interfered. Now, get ready, she'll be waking up soon and we have to be ready. Don't worry too much Private, the Lady Katara doesn't kill, as a rule."

"But sir…"

Katara could barely believe her ears.

"Private Shin? Captain Jee?" she called through the door. "Is that you?"

"NO!" came back Private Shin's voice and then again, much deeper and with a terrible accent. "There is no Private Shin here! We are the… the… the… The Pink Komodo Rhino's of Ozai's Legacy!" Katara was pretty sure that the slapping sound she heard through the door was Captain Jee's palm colliding with his forehead. She'd heard it enough with Sokka to be able to identify it fairly accurately. "And we've come to insure that you never get any closer to the throne you greedy Water Tribe Wh… WH—SIR I CAN'T CALL THE FUTURE FIRE LADY THAT!"

Katara's hands went to her hips in a way that would have most people who knew her scrambling for cover. "Captain Jee, that is you and Private Shin out there, isn't it." There was a sigh and she could practically see him pinching his nose.

"Yes, Master Katara."

"And my fiancé is somewhere nearby, making sure nothing goes wrong?"

"Yes, Master Katara…"

"Do you have any idea _why_ my fiancé is doing this?"

"It is not _my_ place to question the Fire Lord's orders." She heard his suggestion.

"Alright then, do you want to let me out of here so I can drag Zuko into a healing tub and make sure he hasn't gone insane?"

"With pleasure, Master Katara."

* * *

Zuko looked down at the sleeping waterbender beside him. She was frowning and her sleep was restless. Toph had been worse than useless. If anything her suggestion had made things worse. Now she was worried that he'd gone insane. He'd had to scramble to get back ahead of her and Captain Jee (and he _would_ be having words with Captain Jee about this in the morning) had had just enough time hide his Blue Spirit gear before she'd burst in. One look at her face and he hadn't even bothered acting surprised. She'd grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the hall to her room, were Private Jee was supervising some servants drawing a bath. She'd pushed him in and ordered everyone out and settled into a healing trance. He'd tried to get up a few times, reassure her that he really was okay but she'd pushed him and healed and healed until she'd passed out. He'd caught her before she'd actually had the time to fall, used his bending to dry both of them off, and carried her into bed. He'd tucked her under the blankets.

He wished he could stay longer, be there when she woke up, but he had a letter to write. This was his last hope. Surely her own brother couldn't fail him.

* * *

Sokka's letter returned faster than Zuko could have hoped. When he opened the scroll, he almost ripped it in his haste. Sokka's missive was the shortest by far.

"Ask her what's wrong, Jerkbender," was all it said. Well, that and a post script about fire flakes, but Zuko wasn't really paying attention to that. Could it really be that simple?

* * *

Katara looked up when the door to the library opened and tensed when she saw it was Zuko. He'd been acting very strange recently and she really hoped he wasn't going to try to kidnap her again. Though, it was reassuring to know how loyal the Palace Guard was not just to Zuko but to her too.

"Katara… can I talk to you?" he asked, looking both worried and hopeful. Katara rolled her eyes and tucked her legs up, giving him room to sit next to her, and put the scroll she'd been reading off to the side. He sat down next to her, frowned at his hands, which she noticed he was wringing.

"Zuko…?" Katara asked, starting to get worried. "Is everythi—"

"What's wrong?" he blurted, finally turning to look at her? Her eyes widened in surprise. "I mean," he continued, "I know something's wrong. You've been sad for over a month now. Well, not all the time, like sometimes you're happy. But mostly you're sad. Well, not mostly, but when you think no one is looking and I saw you crying and I want you to be happy but nothing seems to be working, and so I was just wondering what's wrong?" Katara blinked at her husband to be for a full five seconds, feeling fairly flabbergasted.

"Zuko… I… It's nothing you have to worry about, all right? It'll pass."

"No! Not alright!" said the man that chased a dream for three years and had chased her and her friends across the world. "You're _sad,_ Katara. You were crying. I love you. I want you to be happy."

"Zuko! It's nothing to worry about! There's nothing you could do anyway," Katara snapped.

"How do you know if you won't even tell me!" Zuko snapped back. Never give up without a fight. "Please Katara?" His voice softened. "I want to help."

"Oh Zuko," Katara said, leaning into Zuko's suddenly open embrace. "I know you do." She took a deep breath and admitted something she'd been trying to ignore for a while. "I just miss snow. I miss my brother and father and snow that lasts," she admitted. She felt Zuko's arms tighten around her.

"They couldn't make it this year." Zuko said softly, understanding dawning. She nodded against his chest as she felt the tears starting to fall.

"It was a hard winter and the tribe needs both of them this year," she said, summarizing the letter that had started her sadness. "Their visits make it easier to deal with no snow." Zuko rested his lips against the top of her head and rocked her back and forth gently. He wasn't very good with words, but that didn't really matter. She clung to the man she loved until her tears subsided and she actually did feel somewhat better.

"Thanks Zuko," she said, wiping her eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, giving her a searching look.

"Some," she admitted. "It'll help when dry season is over."

"I'm sorry, Katara, but I have to go…" he said, obviously thinking something over. He gave her a look approaching on desperate. "I love you." He was gone before she had time to respond.

* * *

The next few days left Katara, if anything, even more confused.

"Zuko? What are you doing in my room? Are you going through my stuff? _Why_ are you taking my parka? HEY! Get back here!"

* * *

"Zuko, if you're going to summon my tribesmen to an audience it would be nice if you could tell me. I _am_ the ambassador you know."

* * *

"Seal blubber jerky travels very well, why do you ask?"

* * *

"Why are we getting into an old war balloon? Where are we even going?"

* * *

"Why do I need to put on my parka? We're in the Fire Nation for La's sake! I'll melt!"

* * *

"Zuko, in the past month, you've thrown water at me _en masse_ and had me kidnapped. Do you really think I'm about to put on this blindfold for reasons you refuse to explain? It would be really nice if you started answering at least _some_ of my questions you know. Oh, Don't give me that look! Don't you da—Oh fine! Give me the damn blindfold."

* * *

"All right," Zuko said, standing behind her. "You can take the blindfold off now."

"Finally!" Katara grumbled to herself, ripping the piece of cloth away. She stared for a moment in complete shock before throwing herself from the basket. The snow that covered the mountain before them rose up to catch her fall. She started rolling herself in the lovely cold snow. It wasn't the same as back in the South Pole, but it was _snow_. It was several minutes before she noticed her fiancé standing a little ways off, in a parka done in the style of her tribe—but red. With a flick of her wrist, she froze his feet in place, much to his surprise. She tackled him before he melted himself free. He was easier to tackle when he couldn't dodge.

"Oh thank you, Zuko! Thank you!" And then she was kissing him and he was getting a blissed look on his face as he kissed her back.

"Where are we?" she asked when she finally came up for air. Zuko took a second to reorient himself.

"Still in the Fire Nation. Some of the islands have mountains so high, it snows and that snow never melts," he explained before getting up and pulling her with him. "I know it's not the South Pole, but Aang will be here in a few days with Toph and Appa and they'll take you home."

"What? The airship that took us here can't get us back to the Capital?" she asked, one eyebrow going up.

"No," Zuko said, drawing back slightly, not looking so happy anymore. "Not my home. Yours. They'll take you back to the South Pole. We can postpone the wedding as long as you like, even call it off if—" Katara rolled her eyes at him. "What?! I thought you missed home!"

"Zuko, I said I missed _snow,_ not home. How could I miss home?" she replied, moving closer and smiling. " I love you, Zuko, even if you sometimes are an idiot." Zuko frowned. Idiot was bad, but she was still smiling, still looking happier than she had in over a month, so…what did she mean?

"But you haven't been to the South Pole in over a year. Of course you'd miss home." Zuko remembered what it was like, being away from home for so long.

"Oh Zuko." Katara pulled the oblivious man she'd somehow fallen in love with into a long hug before looking him in the eye and continuing. "I grew up in South Pole, yes, but home became wherever you are a long time ago."

Zuko looked like he'd been hit by lighting again.

"You mean that?" he asked, not quite sure he could believe his ears. She gave him a considering look.

"Can I come back here?" He was nodding so fast she was worried he'd get whiplash.

"When ever you want!"

"Then yes." She couldn't suppress her smile anymore. Zuko hadn't looked this happy since she'd agreed to marry him in the first place. This time, it was Katara's turn to be tackled and the mountain was filled with the sound of laughter smothered in kisses.

* * *

Sokka smiled when he received not one, but three, crates of fire flakes on the next ship from the fire nation. It was good to know his sister was happy.

* * *

A/N:Oblivious, well meaning Zuko is SO MUCH fun to write. He's so adorkable...

I hope you enjoyed this silly little one shot. Thanks please leave me your thoughts!


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